We Could Keep It A Secret
by IndigoChild624
Summary: In City of Ashes: Chapter 9,when Jace suggests that they could keep their relationship a secret, what would've happen if Clary had agreed? This is a short story on my take of what might have happened if she had said yes.


**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to The Mortal Instrument's Series; they all go to Cassandra Clare. I don't own any of the characters, or the story. What I do own is my own written version of what would happen if Clary had not rejected Jace, so don't copy it, write your own version.**

**This is my second fan fiction, but it is finished unlike my first one. (So, why can't you see, I haven't written the rest of it, sorry.) So tell me if you like it or hate it or whatever, just don't harass me if you dislike it. =P**

Short Story: We Could Keep It A Secret

The text below is directly from City of Ashes, Chapter 9, Pgs. 181-182:

Something inside Clary cracked and broke, and words came pouring out. "_What do you want me to tell you?_ The truth? The truth is that I love Simon like I should love you, and I wish he was my brother and you weren't, but I can't do anything about that and _neither can you!_ Or do you have some ideas, since you're so goddamned smart?"

Jace sucked a breath in, and she realized he had never expected her to say what she'd just said, not in a million years. The look on his face said as much.

She scrambled to regain her composure. "Jace, I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"No. You're not sorry. Don't be sorry." He moved toward her, almost tripping over his feet—Jace, who never stumbled, never tripped over anything, never made an ungraceful move. His hands came up to cup her face; she felt the warmth of his fingertips, millimeters from her skin; knew she ought to pull away, but stood frozen, staring up at him. "You don't understand," he said. His voice shook. "I've never felt this way about anyone. I didn't think I could. I thought—the way I grew up—my father—"

"To love is to destroy," she said numbly. "I remember."

"I thought that part of my heart was broken," he said, and there was a look on his face as he spoke as if he were surprised to hear himself saying these words, saying _my heart_. "Forever. But you—"

"Jace. Don't." She reached up and covered his hands with hers, folding his fingers into her own. "It's pointless."

"That's not true." There was desperation in his voice. "If we both feel the same way—"

"It doesn't matter what we feel. There's nothing we can do." She heard her voice as if a stranger were speaking: remote, miserable. "Where would we go to be together? How could we live?"

"We could keep it a secret."

**(Note: The text below is not from City of Ashes; it is my own writing so don't copy.)**

She looked back at him, incredulous. Those words caused the small sliver of hope that she hid within herself to grow; unconsciously her mind began to envision what it would be like to actually _be with_ Jace. Happiness filled her.

_No_, she frowned. She couldn't let herself dream of something that was relatively impossible, _something that would never happen_.

"How?" she whispered. Her eyes shining with despair. "How would we keep it a secret from everyone? We would have to lie to our families—"

"The Lightwoods _aren't_ my family, they hate me. So why should I care if I lie to them?" he replied bitterly.

"They don't hate you," she said trying to comfort him. "Isabelle, Alec, and Max love you. Do you really think you could lie to them about this?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation. "I do, because technically this isn't any of their business. They don't come to me for relationship advice. They do what they want, with whomever they want, and so do I. It's always been that way and I don't expect that to change any time soon."

She couldn't help but acknowledge that what he was saying was the truth. Isabelle _always_ did what she wanted, with whomever she wanted, and Alec was not only lying about his "preferences", but was having his own secret relationship with Magnus.

"Plus, if they really did love me, they would want me to be happy. And to be with you would make me happier than I've ever been."

When he said that, she froze. Her eyes shot up to his, and what she saw there surprised her. His golden irises were swirling with emotions that she had never seen him express before: determination was one; _he wasn't going to give up easily_, and hope; _hope that they could be together, somehow_.

But, there was one emotion that overpowered the rest; it was so prominent that no matter how much she tried to deny it, she couldn't. And that emotion was love. Love!_ Jace loved her, or at least cared for her very deeply._

"Really?" She asked in disbelief, her cheeks flushed slightly as she realized how stupid she sounded. _Like a little schoolgirl with her first crush, she hoped Jace hadn't noticed._

But of course being Jace, he did. Slowly running his thumbs across her cheeks, almost reverently. "Really," he whispered back. His eyes shone brighter than before, and the corner of his mouth was upturned in a half-smile.

It was too good to be true. Subconsciously she knew that she had already given in, her mind just didn't want to accept it. She started to panic. "How would we hide something like that from everyone? When would we find the time to be together, and where would we go? What if someone found out? What would we do? How—"

"Shhh, Clary calm down," Jace said softly. The hands that were on her face pulled her closer, so close that she could feel his breath waft across her skin. His amber eyes were staring straight into her very soul.

"Do you want to be with me?" he asked.

"Yes, of course but—"

"No, buts. If we both want to be together, if we both care enough for each other, we'll find a way." He said with such certainty, that she couldn't doubt him.

"Ok," she said.

A smile of extreme happiness broke across Jace's face; she had never seen him so content. Then with a deliberate slowness he closed the gap between them, and his lips touched hers in a soft kiss. It was so different from any of the other kisses they had shared before, it was sweet and savoring, like they had all the time in the world to cherish _this_ moment.

Before long though, they both separated for a much needed breath of air. Her heart was pounding and her lips were tingling with the after effects of having just kissed Jace.

With a smirk on his face Jace pulled her in for another kiss, one that was getting more and more heated by the second. She moved her hands up to place them on his chest, only to be met by unclothed skin. Her eyes flung open in shock, she had totally forgotten that he was shirtless and supposed to be taking a shower.

She pushed at him slightly while pulling her lips away from his. "Jace," she said, admonishing him.

"What?" he practically growled, apparently he didn't like that she had interrupted there kissing.

"We shouldn't—umm—," she stuttered. "If we don't stop kissing now, you might have to take a cold shower."

At that he raised an eyebrow.

Once she realized what she had implicated she started making choking noises in her throat. "No!" she practically yelled. "_That's_ not what I meant. What I mean is the shower is still on, and if we keep kissing, by the time you actually take a shower all the hot water will be gone."

"Oh, so _that's_ what you meant," he said chuckling.

"Yes," she replied, while her cheeks turned an irreversible shade of candy apple red.

"So, you want to join me? It'll save _you_ from taking a cold shower." Jace said in a joking manner, though he probably wouldn't mind her joining him.

"No, thank you. I like my showers cold." She said trying to convince him, even though she knew that a cold shower was one of the things she _hated _the most.

"Well, I'll just take a quick one, you can go after me."

"Alright then, I'll just wait here." She went to his bed, and lay down on the white comforter. When she looked up she realized that the bathroom door was still open with Jace standing there, staring at her.

Fear shone through his eyes, he was looking at her like he was afraid to leave her. Afraid that she would disappear into thin air, or that she would change her mind and leave while he was in the shower. She sat back up.

"I promise you that I'll be here when you get back," she said trying to reassure him.

He looked straight into her eyes, searching them for any trace of deceit. He didn't find any. Sighing, he walked back into the restroom, closing the door softly behind him.

When her back hit the mattress, she let out her own sigh. Exhausted, she hoped Jace wouldn't take too long showering, because she might just fall asleep before he even finished.

She must have dosed off, because when she woke up Jace was next to her, shaking her shoulder gently. His hair was still wet, so she knew it couldn't have been long after he had finished his shower.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she sat up. "How long was I asleep for?" she asked with a yawn.

"Not long, just about 20 minutes," Jace stated. "Come on Clary, you have to take a shower before you go to sleep, or you'll get sick with all that pond scum in you're hair."

"I know," she said. Grudgingly she rose from the bed, grabbed the shirt Jace had given her to wear since she didn't have anything else to change into, and headed for the bathroom.

She closed the door, and locked it _just in case_. Removed all of her clothing and stepped inside the shower with the water still running. Thankfully, the water was still warm, but she didn't know how long that would last so she hurried her process, hoping to finish before the water turned cold.

When she was finished showering, she shut off the water grabbed a towel and began drying off as quickly as possible. She stepped out of the shower, pulled on her undergarments and Jace's long-sleeved blue tee that was 4 sizes too big. She brushed her hair and dried it as much as she possibly could, then began brushing her teeth with some of Jace's toothpaste and her index finger.

Finally, she was done. Now all she wanted to do sleep. She exited the bathroom and walked into Jace's room where he was already tucked under the covers and lying more towards the right side of the bed. He appeared to have been waiting for her. She walked up to the left side of the bed, he lifted the covers for her to join, and she climbed in.

She turned to lie facing him and when she did he put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She snuggled into his side, resting her head on his chest.

But before she went to sleep there was something she wanted to do, so she opened up her eyes and gazed into his. She tilted her head up slightly so that her lips could touch his, and kissed him sweetly.

"Goodnight Jace, sweet dreams," she whispered.

"Night Clary."

She closed her eyes and cuddled into the safety his body provided. His arms tightened around her.

Right as she was about to abandon her mind for the land of dreams, she heard something.

"With you here Clary, my dreams will always be sweet," Jace whispered.

A gentle kiss was placed upon her head, and the last thought she had before dosing off was, _"The same with you here, I love you Jace."_

**So yeah, this is my first officially finished fan fiction, so I hope I get reviews. Don't be too hard on me now though; remember I'm just a rookie. But whether you like it or hate it just tell me, I would really like to know what you think. Peace out =P**


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